PHILADELPHIA – We are constantly looking for signs to see if the Phillies are for real, to see if this crawl to the top of the National League East is legitimate or a prelude to a mid-summer swoon, when it's time for the Eagles' training camp to start.

Of course, the Phillies could be in the midst of a 65-game winning streak by then and you'd still hear the ubiquitous Eagles' chants at Phillies' games.

But that's beside the point.

For now, the Phillies are 23-16 after their 4-2 win over the Mets on Sunday, finishing up with a split of an abbreviated, rain-slogged two-game series.

Nick Williams provided the big hit, with a pinch-hit three-run homer in the sixth inning. It was Williams' second home run of the season, and both have come as a pinch hitter.

No, Williams is not happy as a pinch-hitter, but he's dealing with it.

As manager Gabe Kapler put it: "It's a big reward for him, because over the last couple of days, and maybe even more, he's really matured."

Kapler later amended that "last couple of days" comment to "recent past."

"I think this has matured me a a lot," Williams said. "It's a situation I've never been in. I think it's helped me in general grow as a player and a person."

He was then asked if it's humbling.

"Extremely," he replied. "I can't say no. It is humbling."

But the Phillies are winning and Williams is contributing. They trail the first-place Braves by one game. The Washington Nationals, who played later Sunday, are hot on their heels in third place.

While the Nationals were always considered the class of the NL East, even with their slow start, there is every reason to believe that the Phillies can keep this up.

Sure, there are warning signs, such as with the Mets, who began the season at 11-1. They are 8-17 since.

At this point in 2017, they were in the midst of a deplorable 6-22 May when they fell into irrelevance, on their way to a 96-loss season.

The talent is already markedly better. Last May, Jeremy Hellickson was still in the rotation, Tommy Joseph was at first base, Michael Saunders was in right field and Odubel Herrera and Maikel Franco were totally lost at the plate.

Rhys Hoskins and Scott Kingery were still in the minor leagues, and Carlos Santana and Jake Arrieta were key components on playoff teams.

And then there's the way the Phillies are winning, or even not winning.

On offense, they work counts, a dream for their analytically-driven manager in Kapler. They lead the majors by seeing 4.11 pitches per plate appearance. Sure, they strike out a lot, but that also serves to get the starting pitcher out of the game.

On Sunday, Mets starter Jacob deGrom threw 45 pitches ... in the first inning. It was his first start since coming off the disabled list, and on a cold and drizzly day, the Mets weren't taking any chances by having him pitch a second inning.

"[That's] what we do really well, which is grind opposing pitchers down," Kapler said. "For us, we would rather face just about anybody ... than deGrom. Even though we weren't able to capitalize with a big hit in that inning, it was a huge success."

Santana is the epitome of that patience at the plate. After a slow start, he has been the Phillies' best hitter lately. He homered leading off the eighth and doubled over the top of the wall in the sixth. This after Santana had 13 RBIs in a four-game sweep of the Giants last week.

Santana has at least one extra-base hit in eight straight games, the most for a Phillie since Chase Utley did it in 2008.

"For me, right now, I’m feeling more relaxed and not trying too much," said Santana, who has five homers and 16 RBIs in his last eight games. "Trying to make good contact. Before, I tried too much and [bad things] happened ... Right now everything is positive."

In that inning, the Phillies worked three walks, fouled off 21 pitches and went to full counts four times. Last Sunday, Nationals starter Max Scherzer was dominating the Phillies, striking out 15 in six innings. But his pitch count was high, so he came out. The Phillies then took a 4-1 lead against the Nationals' bullpen before losing in the ninth inning.

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Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne (11) drives past Indiana Fever forward Stephanie Mavunga (23) on the way to the basket in the second period of a WNBA preseason basketball game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics at the Bob Carpenter Sports Convocation Center in Newark on Saturday, May 12, 2018. SAQUAN STIMPSON/SPECIAL TO DELAWARE NEWS JOURNAL

Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne (11) drives past Indiana Fever forward Stephanie Mavunga (23) on the way to the basket in the second period of a WNBA preseason basketball game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics at the Bob Carpenter Sports Convocation Center in Newark on Saturday, May 12, 2018. SAQUAN STIMPSON/SPECIAL TO DELAWARE NEWS JOURNAL

Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne (11) drives past Indiana Fever forward Stephanie Mavunga (23) on the way to the basket in the second period of a WNBA preseason basketball game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics at the Bob Carpenter Sports Convocation Center in Newark on Saturday, May 12, 2018. SAQUAN STIMPSON/SPECIAL TO DELAWARE NEWS JOURNAL

Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne (11) drives to the basketball as Indiana Fever forward Candice Dupree (4) defends in the second period of a WNBA preseason basketball game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics at the Bob Carpenter Sports Convocation Center in Newark on Saturday, May 12, 2018. SAQUAN STIMPSON/SPECIAL TO DELAWARE NEWS JOURNAL

Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne (11) warms up before a WNBA preseason basketball game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics at the Bob Carpenter Sports Convocation Center in Newark on Saturday, May 12, 2018. SAQUAN STIMPSON/SPECIAL TO DELAWARE NEWS JOURNAL

Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne (left) warms up before a WNBA preseason basketball game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics at the Bob Carpenter Sports Convocation Center in Newark on Saturday, May 12, 2018. SAQUAN STIMPSON/SPECIAL TO DELAWARE NEWS JOURNAL

Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne (11) warms up before a WNBA preseason basketball game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics at the Bob Carpenter Sports Convocation Center in Newark on Saturday, May 12, 2018. SAQUAN STIMPSON/SPECIAL TO DELAWARE NEWS JOURNAL

Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne (11) takes the floor to warm up before a WNBA preseason basketball game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics at the Bob Carpenter Sports Convocation Center in Newark on Saturday, May 12, 2018. SAQUAN STIMPSON/SPECIAL TO DELAWARE NEWS JOURNAL

Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne (11) plays in the first period of a WNBA preseason basketball game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics at the Bob Carpenter Sports Convocation Center in Newark on Saturday, May 12, 2018. SAQUAN STIMPSON/SPECIAL TO DELAWARE NEWS JOURNAL

Indiana Fever guard Shenise Johnson (42) drives to the basket as Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne (11) defends in the first period of a WNBA preseason basketball game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics at the Bob Carpenter Sports Convocation Center in Newark on Saturday, May 12, 2018. SAQUAN STIMPSON/SPECIAL TO DELAWARE NEWS JOURNAL

Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne (11) watches from the bench during a WNBA preseason basketball game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics at the Bob Carpenter Sports Convocation Center in Newark on Saturday, May 12, 2018. SAQUAN STIMPSON/SPECIAL TO DELAWARE NEWS JOURNAL

Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne (11) returns to the game in the second period of a WNBA preseason basketball game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics at the Bob Carpenter Sports Convocation Center in Newark on Saturday, May 12, 2018. SAQUAN STIMPSON/SPECIAL TO DELAWARE NEWS JOURNAL

Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne (11) wear her own sneakers by Nike during a WNBA preseason basketball game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics at the Bob Carpenter Sports Convocation Center in Newark on Saturday, May 12, 2018. SAQUAN STIMPSON/SPECIAL TO DELAWARE NEWS JOURNAL

Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne (11) is introduced before a WNBA preseason basketball game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics at the Bob Carpenter Sports Convocation Center in Newark on Saturday, May 12, 2018. SAQUAN STIMPSON/SPECIAL TO DELAWARE NEWS JOURNAL

Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne (11) and her teammates huddle together before a WNBA preseason basketball against the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics at the Bob Carpenter Sports Convocation Center in Newark on Saturday, May 12, 2018. SAQUAN STIMPSON/SPECIAL TO DELAWARE NEWS JOURNAL

Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne (11) and her teammates celebrate a large lead in the second period of a WNBA preseason basketball game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics at the Bob Carpenter Sports Convocation Center in Newark on Saturday, May 12, 2018. SAQUAN STIMPSON/SPECIAL TO DELAWARE NEWS JOURNAL

Contrast that to the Phillies' top two starters in Aaron Nola, who pitched Sunday, and Arrieta.

You won't find neither among the leaders in strikeouts, although Nola did strike out a career-high 12 in his last start, against the Giants last Tuesday.

Nola's ERA is 1.99 after he threw six innings, giving up a run on nine hits with four strikeouts on Sunday. The only run came on Yoenis Cepedes' homer leading off the sixth. It was only the second run he has allowed in his last three starts, spanning 20 1/3 innings.

True, the Phillies have to figure out the closer's role after Hector Neris blew two saves last week. On Sunday, the Phillies went with Edubray Ramos in the ninth, who got his first save of the season.

Kapler said nothing has changed with his philosophy on using closers, saying "We're going to use our best option."

But that was always Neris, at least until now.

"We're going to be creative," Kapler said.

The Phillies have been so far this season. Maybe that could last long enough for a playoff run with a midseason trade for a starting pitcher, perhaps a return for Cole Hamels? At least there's a chance.